Starting a druid
Introduction So, you're thinking of playing a Druid? This page is intended to give a short overview of what to do over the first 10 levels or so, just to get you started on the right path. If you're looking for more of an overview of the class's abilities, see the main Druid page. For more advanced topics, see the Druid Tactics. For even more info on Druids, see Category:Druids. For a more general overview on starting out playing WoW, see the Newbie Guide Race Selection Race selection is a moot point for Druids, as there is only the choice between the Alliance or the Horde. If you want to be a druid for the Horde, then you have to be a Tauren, and if you want to be an Alliance druid, you have to be a Night Elf. If you don't care about faction, then looking at the Racial Traits should give you an idea which to play. Tauren get a 5% increase to total health, which will help Druid Tanks, and War Stomp, one of the few stuns a Druid can get. Night Elves get an increase to dodge, and Shadowmeld, which will help greatly your stealth, since this trait stacks upon your Prowl spell also. Early Leveling The easiest way to progress through the early levels is to simply do any and all of the quests you can find. Not only will you breeze through the first 5 to 10 levels, but you'll get useful gear and precious money. Money is particularly important so you can purchase your spells. You will spend levels 1 to 5 in your starting town. Make sure you get all the spells you can from your trainer. Between level 5 and 6 you'll find yourself heading off to your second town and a new trainer who can teach you various things. At the second town, repeat the process - do each and every quest you can find. It's important to keep up with your abilities and your gear. Now is also an appropriate time to start training in your chosen professions. At early levels, a druid will mostly use their Wrath DD spell and Moonfire DoT spell to kill mobs intermixed with melee attacks. Always keep Mark of the Wild active and Thorns when you get it. Outside, when you get Entangling Roots, hit mobs with that first and cast a few ranged damage spells before resorting to melee combat. Use Rejuvenation HoT spell early on to keep your health up and Healing Touch for when you get really low. Levels 1 - 3 Initially, you're equipped with a ranged attack and a healing spell. With money, you can learn your first buff, Mark of the Wild. Keep this active at all times, and feel free to cast it on others as a friendly gesture. Begin combat at maximum range with Wrath, spamming it until the mob comes into melee range. Since Wrath is a missile attack, combat may not actually begin until the missile strikes, giving you the opportunity to cast another bolt while the first one is in flight. While up close, switch to your melee attack. Heal when necessary. For Tauren, you can War Stomp a mob at melee range to stun it, buying you time to cast spells, heal, or just recompose yourself. For ranged mobs, try to out-spam them at maximum range. If you run out of mana, wait, or run up to engage in melee. If the mob runs out of mana, it will often run to you, giving you the opportunity to engage or increase distance to spam again. Levels 4 - 5 At Level 4, you can learn Moonfire and Rejuvenation, both effect-over-time spells. Continue to open combat with Wrath, throwing in a periodic Moonfire to land the debuff, walking backwards or strafing to increase distance. Even at melee range, throw in a Moonfire when necessary, since as an instant cast, it isn't susceptible to spell interruption. Moonfire is also good at tagging the last blow when a mob is weak or running. Keep the Moonfire debuff active at all times during combat. Use Rejuvenation to supplement your direct healing. Use Healing Touch for large, time-critical gaps in health. Levels 6 - 7 At Level 6, you can learn Thorns, an offensive buff. Keep this, along with Mark of the Wild, on at all times. Levels 8 - 9 At Level 8, you can learn your first crowd-control spell, Entangling Roots. Continue to open combat with two Wraths and a Moonfire. When the mob comes running towards you, root it in place. Now, you have many options. You can run away, rebuff yourself, or increase distance to help spam spells. As you fight mobs, try to keep them rooted at all times and away from you. Use Entangling Roots to halt runners from calling more mobs. Notable Early Quests '' The intention is to link into the Quests page here with a few low-level quests once they are added, with particular emphasis on including quests with nice druid rewards, and any ClassX-specific quests. No real need to include the very basic starting quests as everybody will see those easily enough -- Goldark'' It is interesting to note that there is a Druid trainer in Silvermoon City as well as one near the Exodar. It is therefore possible for Druids to train in those zones, instead of in their native ones. The following lists are not intended to be comprehensive, but cover a selection of the best quests in the starting areas from levels 1 to 10. Night Elves * Quest 1 Tauren * Quest 1 Druid Specific Quests On Soloing and Grouping Soloing Even at early levels, the soloing Druid acts as the versatile character he's supposed to be. Typical fights will include a Direct Damage spell (Starfire or Wrath) to start, a Damage over Time spell (Moonfire), a Healing over Time spell (Rejuvenation), and some melee attacks. As a Druid, you should never lose your powerful Mark of the Wild Buff spell. Having this buff on you is like wearing your armor. You would not fight nude, would you? Thorns is a damage shield and should always be visible in your buff list too. These spells are all available at level 4. Thorns is a available at lvl 6 Grouping Finding his role in a group is a real challenge for the newbie Druid. Since at low levels you can tank, heal, deal damage you will be tempted to do everything, and end in doing nothing well. More than any other class, you will need to adapt. When you join a group, check if there are any missing roles. Until you know your character well, choose one role and stick to it. No tank? Use your bear form. No healer? Keep your mana for emergency, and be ready to assist and heal the puller. Need a scout? Use your cat form. Communicate! Ask the others what they plan to do, what they expect from you. Don't forget your Crowd Control spells, Entangling Roots, and later Hibernate, can be useful if the group gets more enemies than expected. Remember to "assist" the Warrior or Paladin if you have one in your group, to ensure you focus your party's firepower on one mob. You can do this by selecting the tank (use the F1-F5 keys to target group members) and then pressing "F". This way, mobs will die faster. If you don't have a tank in the group, agree amongst yourselves who to assist. Although its not all that important now, its an important habit to get used to for later levels. If you are the Tank, use your Bear form, and remind your group to always assist you in battle, to ensure you focus your party's firepower on one mob. They can do this by selecting you (use the F1-F5 keys to target group members) and then pressing "F". This way, mobs will die faster. Although it's not all that important now, it's an important habit to get used to for later levels. The Druid is a very versatile class, but you will generally find Druids are sought after as healers. In terms of healing only a Priest is better than a Druid. However when acting as backup or main healer a Druid has the advantage of quickly changing to adapt to a situation and has better armour to deal with enemies that target you. Another good use for the Druid is to use Cat Form but can quickly change out to help the Healer if things get shaky. Tip: If you're acting as Healer, do not cast the Thorns buff on yourself. The damage isn't much and any mobs that attack you will only have more hate generated towards you from the damage. Useful Professions The Druid can benefit directly and indirectly from many of the professions available. Primary Professions * Skinning and Leatherworking : This combination will be immediately useful to the Druid. Expect to wear a combination of found items and items you make yourself as your leatherworking keeps pace with your level. Skinning will increase naturally (you can actually max out at 300 while still in your 40's) but you will spend a lot of money levelling your leatherworking skill. Also, a lot of leatherwork items will sell for less than the cost of the raw materials (because there are a lot of other people out there trying to level their skills too and they will flood the market) - it is only when you hit on the niche items that you can make a profit (things like the Gem Studded Belt, Feathered Breastplate, Ironfeather items, etc.) Furthermore, leatherworking allows you to create "Armor Kits" which will increase the armor value of Chest, Hands, Legs, and Feet armor items. * Herbalism and Alchemy : Even if, as a caster, the Druid can rely on his own abilities to heal and buff himself, additional potions are always welcome. : It is especially notable that Night Elves and Tauren are both particularly suited to a career in alchemy. Tauren receive +15 levels of Herbalism skill and the elven zones are remarkably abundant in flowers to pick. Along with their ability to stealth in Cat Form... : The Druid quest Gathering the Cure requires you to gather a bunch of Earthroot - which task is certainly made easier if you can pick them yourself. Start your profession early! It's usually not too expensive, and you want to ensure that anything you create with your skills is applicable to your Druid's level. Secondary Professions * Cooking * Fishing * First Aid Being a healer, the Druid does not need these professions as much as other classes. However, if the Druid plans to rely more on his caster's abilities, First Aid will be a good alternative to heal without spending mana. Long-Term Goals Some of the main abilities of the Druid are obtained through quests. These include the Bear Form, the Aquatic Form, and the Cure Poison spell. These quests are given to the Druid by one of the Druid trainers of your Capital city (Thunder Bluff for Taurens and Darnassus for Night Elves). The Druid trainer will first provide you with a special Teleport spell : Teleport: Moonglade. Moonglade is a sacred place for all Druids, shared by Taurens and Night Elves. Remember that this spell can also be used as a sort of second hearthstone, providing easy access to northern Kalimdor. See Also Druid Druid Spells Druid Forms Druid Talent Analysis Druid Tactics The druid guide Useful starters guide for druids ---- Druid,Starting Druid,Starting